Caltabiano: Preludes, Fanfares, & Toccatas, for Orchestra

Preludes, Fanfares, & Toccatas

Duration:

17 min.

Year:

1995

Orchestra
2(Picc.) 2(E.H.) 3Cl.(Eb Cl. Bb Cl. B.Cl.) 2(Cbsn.) - 4 3 3 1; Timp. 3Perc. Str.

Catalog No.:

rental only

	Opening and first Toccata (1' 35" -- 1.5 MB)		download

	From the first Fanfare (1' 13" -- 1.2 MB)		download

	From the first Prelude (1" 43" -- 1.6 MB)		download

Preludes, Fanfares, and Toccatas, as its name implies, consists of three principal movements. Each has explicitly different, but implicitly related, musical material. The piece's structure is more complex than that, however. The key lies in Caltabiano's use of plurals in his title: he brings back his Fanfare later in the piece, so that there are actually two Fanfare sections with related music. Similarly, the Prelude and Toccata sections each recur twice. The piece thus subdivides into eight distinct sections, in the order Toccata-Fanfare-Prelude-Toccata-Prelude-Fanfare-Toccata-Prelude, adding up to approximately 14 minutes of music. "It's as if they've been snipped with scissors," the composer explains, "or like switching back and forth on screen viewing three films." Because the individual Toccatas, Preludes, and Fanfares intercut with one another, the overall effect of the piece is episodic, and occasionally startling.

Caltabiano describes his music as "somewhat schizophrenic." Preludes, Fanfares, and Toccatas is no exception. Various aspects of its character - tempo, dynamics, register, and instrumentation - shift with each movement. The Fanfares are relentless and driving, with more than a hint of march-like character. They are also loud; the minimum dynamic designation is mezzoforte, and substantial portions of them are marked fortissimo. Not surprisingly, they emphasize the brass section, with timpani also functioning as a leading instrument.

By contrast, the Preludes are mostly long, lush lines in a complex web of counterpoint. Strings are the orchestral focus. Caltabiano slows the tempo to Adagio, and subdues the dynamic level to piano espressivo. The Preludes are the longest segments of the piece, at two to three minutes apiece. The three Toccatas only last a minute each. Dominated by the woodwind section, they contain the most overtly coloristic writing in the piece, including such striking combinations as a duet for piccolo and xylophone.

Two important features serve as binding devices that lend direction and auditory structure to the work. The first is an introductory flourish for full orchestra, consisting of a few stabbing chords. It heralds the beginning of each new movement - several times as briefly as a single measure - and also concludes the piece. The second feature is register: that portion of the overall orchestral range emphasized at a given moment in the music. The basic direction of Preludes, Fanfares, and Toccatas moves from high to low in a series of descending gestures. Thus, for example, the first Prelude focuses on upper strings, and the second on the darker sound of the middle strings, but the final Prelude exploits the deep cellos and basses. The exception to this general pattern is the two Fanfares, which swoop aggressively upward, and the brief coda, which Caltabiano uses to hammer his piece home in a powerful conclusion.

© copyright 1995 by Laurie Schulman
Used by permission

The DSO led off with the world premiere of a splendid orchestral work by Ronald Caltabiano. Preludes, Fanfares, and Toccatas is no lightweight showpiece, as the name might suggest. It's one 19-minute span that cross-cuts snarling cacophony, rhythmic athleticism and a lyricism rare in contemporary music.

The orchestra brought it off gorgeously, too. The "prelude" sections weave slow string melodies against quietly exotic excursions in the winds and a high-pitched rattle in the percussion reminiscent of an electronic whine. Never have the DSO violins sounded so sleek and pure as in this exposed, potentially treacherous writing.

-- Dallas Morning News